Submitted by Marcella Locatelli

Submitted by Glen Yingling of Lewiston Idaho

Italian Recipes from AostaBoldly setting itself apart from traditional Italian recipes by shunning pasta in favour of gnocchi, polenta and rice, Mario Matassa leads us into the world of Aostan cuisine…
Recipe 1 – Chestnuts with lardo d’Arnad and rye bread
Antipasto di castagne con lardo d’Arnad e pane nero
Lardo is often confused, and therefore dismissed, with lard. It is in fact a cured and spiced pork fat, very delicate in flavour and a true delicacy of Italian cuisine. It should be bought thinly sliced and kept in the fridge until ready to use.

Place a few slices of rye bread on four serving plates. Top each slice of bread with a few slices of lardo (make sure you keep the lardo in the fridge until you are ready to serve).
Roughly chop the chestnuts and the rosemary and sprinkle over the lardo. Finish with a grinding of black pepper and a drizzle of honey over the chestnuts. Serve immediately.

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Aosta3200pxItalian Recipe 2 – Valdostana cabbage soup
Zuppa alla Valdostana
This soup is a descendant of cucina povera. Made with hardy cabbage, like ribollita it is a twice-cooked soup, but the addition of fontina cheese gives it a wonderful depth of flavour. Locals eat this as a first course but it is substantial enough to be a plate in its own right.

Serves 4 | Preparation 10 mins | Cooking 1 hour
1 small cabbage
½ day-old loaf, rustic style bread
200g fontina cheese, grated
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
Unsalted butter
Salt and pepper
Wash and slice the cabbage and boil for 7-8 minutes until tender. Drain, add a knob of butter and set aside.
Slice the bread and place a layer on the bottom of an ovenproof dish.
Place a layer of cooked cabbage on top and a layer of cheese. Season with pepper and repeat, adding another layer with the remaining ingredients.
Add the stock to the dish. Place the dish into a preheated oven at 160°C for 30 minutes until golden on top.

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Aosta5200pxItalian Recipe 3 – Veal chop with fontina cheese
Costoletta alla Valdostana
This is served in practically every restaurant in the region but it’s important to avoid touristy establishments and find a restaurant that does it well. The veal chops need to be evenly coated and fried in hot butter and there should be enough cheese just to coat the meat, not drown it.

Serves 4 | Preparation 15 mins | Cooking 12 mins
4 veal chops on the bone
1 beaten free-range egg
100g fine breadcrumbs
150g fontina cheese in slices
Unsalted butter
Place the veal chops on a chopping board and flatten out slightly with a heavy meat mallet. Trim off any excess fat. Dip the chops into the beaten egg and then into the breadcrumbs to coat.
Add a generous knob of butter to a large heavy-based frying pan and cook the chops for approximately 3 minutes on each side, or until golden.
Transfer the chops to an ovenproof dish and top with the slices of cheese. Place in a preheated oven at 180°C for 5 minutes until the cheese has melted.
Serve immediately with boiled new potatoes.

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Aosta4200pxItalian Recipe 4 – Chocolate cream dessert
Crema di Cogne
This dish originated in Cogne, and is almost always served with tegole, a thin crisp biscuit made with egg whites, hazelnuts and almonds, widely available throughout the region. The tradition likely stems from the fact that to make a batch of tegole requires egg whites, which are always to hand after making the crema.

Serves 4 | Preparation 5 mins + chilling | Cooking 15 mins
4 egg yolks
200g caster sugar
1 tbsp dark cocoa powder
250ml single cream
250ml whole milk
50g dark chocolate, grated
Place the egg yolks and half the sugar into a large bowl. Whisk together until light and foamy. Add the cocoa powder, cream, milk and grated dark chocolate and stir together. Pour everything into a heavy-based saucepan and cook over a medium heat, stirring continuously until it thickens.
In the meantime, add the remaining sugar together with 2 tbsp of water into another saucepan. Place over a medium heat and cook until it caramelises – this will take the same amount of time as the cream. Once the cream has thickened, remove from the heat and add the caramel. Keep stirring for another minute until the mix is well incorporated.
Pour the chocolate cream into four serving dishes and set aside to cool slightly before placing in a fridge to chill. Serve chilled with tegole biscuits, which are traditional almond and hazelnut biscuits from the Valle d’Aosta